


in which Jonny and Tim are tired of being matchmade (and take matters into their own hands)

by zinabug



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, This is so fucking cliche, Trapped In A Closet, denying emotions, jonny gets octokitten therapy asmr, listen you know the drill, then they actually fall in love and all that jazz, there gets more angst as you go but it’ll end okay I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23876725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zinabug/pseuds/zinabug
Summary: the title says it all, basically. hearteyes fake dating because they are sick of everyone trying to get them together.
Relationships: Jonny d'Ville/Gunpowder Tim
Comments: 99
Kudos: 332





	1. Chapter 1

The last straw came when Brian and Nastya locked them in a supply closet together.

Jonny leaned against the wall opposite Tim and glared at him. Tim glared back. The two of them just glared back and forth in silence for a while before Tim sighed and slid down the wall, sitting back against it. 

“I’m so sick of being… matchmade.” Tim sighed. 

Jonny just frowned at him. “That’s not a word.” 

Tim slid lower down the wall and flipped Jonny off. “It is now. Fuck you.” 

“Fuck _you!_ ” 

“That’s what everyone seems to want.” Tim kicked Jonny in the ankle. “We have to do _something_ about this.” 

“Bold of you to assume I ever have ideas.” Jonny said. 

“You have loads of ideas! You write music!” Tim kicked Jonny again. “Come on, help me get us out of being matchmade.” 

Jony frowned and kicked Tim back. “Our choices seem to be to run away or die.” he snapped. 

“We can’t die, and if we run away we will be assumed matchmade.” Tim said, sitting back up. 

“So, our choices are being assumed matchmade or being matchmade.” Jonny said. He probably would have been pacing, but he was in a closet that was mostly full of Tim’s legs. Tim was unfairly tall. 

“You’re saying the word.” Tim grinned “ _Matchmade._ ”

“Fuck you.” Jonny ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of ideas. 

“We could, y’know, let ourselves be matchmade.” Tim took off his goggles and spun them around and around on his finger. 

“What? No!” Jonny pressed his back against the wall again. He was blushing. “No way I-I do not have an interest in you-” 

“Just pretend.” Tim said. 

Jonny stared at him blankly. 

“And then we could break up. Messily. Then people would leave us alone.” Tim said. He was blushing too. 

Jonny stared at the ceiling for several minutes. “Sure. fuck this. I still hate you, just so you know.”

“Hate you too, _sweetheart.”_ Tim got to his feet. “How do we get out of here now?” 

Jonny pushed Tim aside and banged on the door several times. “FUCKING LET US OUT WE TALKED ABOUT OUR FEELINGS AND EVERYTHING.” 

There was a couple minutes of silence. 

“AND WE KISSED!” Tim yelled. Jonny kicked him in the leg. 

The door opened. 

Jonny ran out, ready to kill someone, but the hallway was empty. 

“She’s probably in the air ducts.” Tim sighed. “Come _on_.” he draped an arm over Jonny’s shoulders. 

Jonny glared up at Tim. “bless your heart.” 

“Love you too.” 

* * *

“Well well well, what have we here.” Ashes was grinning and hovering over Jonny and Tim as they sat next to each other, holding hands, blushing and looking in opposite directions. 

“Cheers for the happy couple!” Maruis crowed, holding up his violin bow, glancing at it, and trading it for his glass. 

Tim ran his free hand through his hair, and Jonny tried very hard not to shoot both of them. 

It had been about a week since the two of them had been “matchmade.” they both hated it, but also neither of them would suggest a break up yet, out of spite. 

“You know, I don’t think you two have kissed since you got out of that closet.” Ashes leaned on the table, still with that _infernal_ grin. “Unless you’ve been up to stuff where we can’t see.” 

“No.” both of them spoke at once. 

Ashes raised an eyebrow. 

“Fuck off.” Jonny snapped. He turned to face Tim and kissed him full on the lips. 

When the two of them broke apart, Jonny glared at Ashes again, trying to ignore how much he’d enjoyed that. One of his hands was still tangled up in Tim’s hair. 

Ashes started slow clapping as Maruis cheered and dropped a bowl in the background. It shattered loudly on the floor. 

“Happy?” Jonny snarled. He grabbed Tim’s hand and dragged him out of the room. 

The instant the door behind them shut, Jonny dropped Tim’s hand like it was a hot coal. “Sorry about that.” he said, trying very hard not to think about kissing Tim again. 

“Oh, I got an apology?” Tim grinned. “That was fun! And I got an _apology!_ You never apologize to anyone but Nastya.” 

Jonny glared at him, not even sure what he was apologizing for. He has some vague idea about apologizing for the kissing-Tim-without-his-permission thing but honestly didn’t know anymore. 

“What do you mean _that was fun?”_ He finally settled on saying. 

“You’re a good kisser, actually.” Tim said. “And it’s always fun to see you and Ashes do that.”

“Do what.”

“Be such _siblings.”_ Tim grinned. “Come on, stop glaring at me. We’re supposed to be dating!” 

Jony rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Tim’s waist. He couldn’t reach Tim’s shoulders. “All right, _darlin’”_

* * *

Jonny was out of spare blankets. 

His room was freezing, and he was starting to feel his chest tighten in that way that meant “too cold too cold.” he stared at the vent in the ceiling. The heating was probably broken again. 

He got up, dragging along a couple of blankets over his shoulders, and started walking. He wasn’t sure where he was going until he found himself standing into front of the double doors to the gun deck. Tim’s quarters, he had given up on his bedroom a while ago and had moved all his things there. 

Jonny’s breath was fogging in the air, and he was starting to get dizzy. He pushed the door open. 

Tim’s bed was nestled in the corner, with a cannon at the foot of it. He had some kind of walls set up for privacy, but the door was still just a curtain. Jonny pushed it aside and entered. The room was warmer than the halls, and his room too, but still cold. 

He dropped his bundle of blankets over Tim, who stirred slightly and muttered something, before sighing heavily and crawling under the blanket pile with Tim. 

Tim rolled over to face him at the cold draft from the blankets moving. 

“someone there?” he mumbled, reaching over to put an arm around Jonny’s shoulders. Jonny froze. 

“Bertie?” Tim mumbled. 

“Ah- no-” Jonny was very much regretting his decision, even though it was much warmer with Tim. 

Tim sat up. “Jonny?” 

Jonny glared up at him. “I was cold and my heart was being weird. I’m sleeping here now.” 

Tim nodded. “Right. And why me?” 

“Because you’re my boyfriend, idiot. Come here and stop- _hovering_ over me.” 

Tim flopped back down next to Jonny and wrapped his arms around him.

“I thought you were just pretending to be my boyfriend.” Tim said. 

“I am.” Jonny took one of Tim’s hands and kissed it. “Shut up.” 

Jonny was mostly asleep when Tim kissed the top of his head and sighed. 

“Jonny?” Tim whispered. “I know you’re asleep, which is probably better because I don’t want you to stab me but- what if we- maybe- weren’t just pretending to be matchmade?” 

Jonny was instantly wide awake, like he had been struck by lightning but a lot less painful becuse being struck by lightning _really fucking hurts-_ he shut his eyes tightly, feeling Tim settle back down. 

What if… they weren’t just pretending…. Jonny tried very hard to ignore the emotions he definitely wasn't feeling about Tim. he was not going to let himself be matchmade. He was not he was not he- Tim was snoring slightly. Jonny suddenly realized he had been thinking for much longer than he thought. 

“Tim?” he whispered, feeling like a complete idiot. “That- that might be nice.” 

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, when Tim woke up, Jonny was mostly on top of him like a human blanket, in addition to the four unfamiliar blankets Jonny had probably dragged in the night before. The heating was working again, and it was slightly too warm under Jonny and the covers. 

“Jonny?” Tim said. Jonny mumbled something and pressed his face into Tim’s chest. 

“Jonny! Wake up!” 

Jonny yelped and toppled off Tim onto the floor. Tim leaned over the side of the bed and looked at him. He was wearing striped pajamas, and the arms and legs were too long. There was a belt over his shoulder. 

“Are those your pajamas?” Tim asked, distracted for the moment. 

“I stole them from Nastya. What time is it?” Jonny sat up. 

“We’re in space, time isn’t real. The heating is working again at least.” 

“I noticed.” Jonny glared at Tim, which Tim couldn’t take seriously because he was so cute with his hair sticking up all over and his oversized pajamas. 

Jonny could deny as many emotions as he liked, but Tim wasn’t going to. He’d had a crush on Jonny for a good century. 

“Want to get breakfast?” Tim asked. 

“You can’t cook.” Jonny glared harder, if that was possible. 

“Neither can you. Let’s try.”

“I can cook some things.” Jonny tried to stand up, got his feet tangled in the legs of his pajama pants, almost fell over and caught himself on the bedside cannon. “Fuck.” 

Tim would have laughed if he wasn’t in a room full of weapons and an angry Jonny. He settled for looking for a clean shirt and his coat.

When the two of them exited the gun bay, they didn’t expect Ashes and Nastya to be waiting for them. 

“What do we have here?” Ashes said. They were grinning. 

Jonny flipped them the double bird as Tim said “what are you doing  _ lurking _ here?”

“Checking the wiring.” Nastya said, pointing at a missing wall panel. “And Ashes heard I might need to do something with live wires and possibly welding and decided they needed to come with.” 

Ashes tipped their hat in Nastya’s direction. “What can I say. I’m a simple genderless arsonist, I hear about anything that could possibly involve fire and I come along.”

“I respect you and your simple genderless arsonist agenda. ” Tim said, the first thing that popped into his head. 

“Thank you.” Ashes tipped their hat again. “Now, you two, what were you doing?” 

“Sleeping.” Jonny snapped. “Tim, lets go.” 

“Oh, drama.” Ashes said. 

Jonny flipped them off again.

“Let’s just go get breakfast.” Tim said, looking his arm around Jonny’s shoulders. He didn want him to start a fight with Ashes. 

“You can’t cook.” Ashes said. 

“I can make beans! And eggs!” Jonny almost yelled at Ashes. He hooked his arm around Tim’s waist, turning his tone as close as Jonny ever got to adoring. “Shall we, darlin’?” 

Tim grinned. “We shall. You two can fuck off.” 

Ashes opened and closed their mouth several times. “ _ Darlin’ _ ?” they asked. 

“Ashes, come here and you can do something involving lots of sparks.” Nastya said, sounding bored. “Hold these wires together.” 

“Ooh.” Ashes turned around. “I won’t forget that, you two.” 

Jonny flashed one more middle finger at Ashes as the two of them rounded a corner, followed by Nastya calling “Jonny! Those are my pajamas!” after them. 

Tim was very aware of the fact that Jonny didn’t let go of him, even when they were out of sight of Nastya and Ashes. 

Marius had already cooked breakfast. 

Marius could cook about five ridiculously complicated things very well, and nothing else. He had made a souffle.

Jonny and Tim walked into the kitchen just as Marius was serving it. He grinned at them, wearing two other hats on top of his normal helmet. 

“good morning, lovebirds,” Marius said loudly. “I made breakfast.”

Jonny flipped him off. 

“That's not a way to greet someone who made you breakfast.” Marius said. “I didn't break all the dishes, go get some and I’ll serve you.” 

“We would have cooked!” Jonny snapped. 

Tim grabbed two plates and tossed them to Marius, one after the other. He caught them both with his right arm and started serving them souffle. 

Tim sat down in one of the mismatched kitchen chairs, an armchair with several bullet holes in it. Jonny, who had been standing until then, promptly sat down on Tim’s lap. 

“What are you doing?” Tim whispered. 

“Showing affection,” Jonny whispered back. 

Tim pushed Jonny to the side, winding up with the two of them squished next to each other in the chair, which was too small for the both of them. Jonny looked like an angry cat in oversized pajamas and a belt. Tim leaned over and kissed the top of his head. 

“What was  _ that _ ?” Jonny hissed. 

“Affection,” Tim whispered back. “Like you were literally just doing.” 

“What are you talking about?” Marius said, still too loudly. 

“Nothing.” both of them said at once. 

Marius raised an eyebrow. Jonny glared at him. 

“Hon, don’t kill Marius.” Tim pressed a kiss to the top of Jonny’s head. “He made us breakfast.” 

Jonny glared at Marius. Marius grinned at him. 

Tim picked up Jonny’s plate and handed it to him, ignoring Marius. 

“Thank you, darlin.” Jonny said. 

Marius opened his mouth and shut it again.  _ Jonny? Being polite?  _

“Fuck off, Marius.” Jonny snapped. “If you have something to say, fucking say it.” 

Marius turned around and walked back over to the kitchen counter. 

Jonny and Tim were being sickeningly sweet. Marius sat on the counter and ate his souffle, listening to the conversation, which mostly consisted of pet names, with interest. 

His favorite part was when a very angry sounding Jonny called Tim “honeyguns,” which made Marius choke on his souffle. Jonny threw a fork at his head in response to the muffled choking laugh, although it missed. 

Marius couldn’t stop laughing after that, which seemed to really annoy the two of them. After a couple minutes Jonny launched himself off the chair towards him with murder in his eyes. Marius jumped back, as Tim grabbed Jonny and draped him over his shoulder, where Jonny flailed around for a minute. Tim waved cheerfully and sprinted out of the room, Jonny yelling and trying to get free. 

The two of them exited the room with Tim kicking the door open and Jonny’s yells of “fuck you!” echoing down the halls. 

“Put me DOWN!” Jonny yelled. 

Tim laughed and swung Jonny around and onto one of the couches in one of the many living rooms of the aurora. 

Tim laughed again, half wild with something like joy. Jonny had never seen him like that, not for centuries. He leaned over and kissed Jonny, messily and lightly, mostly on the corner of his mouth. 

Jonny was blushing, trying to ignore the bubble of emotions rising up in his chest. “Tim… why are you doing this?” 

Tim leaned back. “This is going to sound  _ so incredibly insane.”  _

Jonny could feel Tim’s heartbeat against his own, a steady  _ thump thump _ against his own  _ tick tick,  _ both of them speeding up in sync. 

“I think I might be in love with you.” Tim said, quietly. “For real this time.” 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

“No.” Jonny said. “No no no.” he sat up, pushing Tim away from him. He has to not feel the emotions he’s definitely feeling now _oh god oh fuck he does love tim, he does-_ he can’t love Tim. 

Tim looks hurt, and beautiful, and it felt like a dam had broken somewhere inside Jonny. All at once he was loving Tim and hating himself. 

So he did the only thing he could think of and pulled out his gun. 

“I’m sorry.” he whispered, and he pulled the trigger on Tim’s shocked, hurt, _so incredibly beautiful_ face. 

* * *

Jonny put his head in his hands and pulled his knees closer to his chest. He’d run away, deep into the aurora to a room full of twisted pipes and hissing steam, remembering -despite his best efforts- hours and maybe days huddled in this very room with a shivering Nastya. 

He couldn’t do it, couldn’t love Tim. _He didn’t know how_. 

There was a squelching noise and an octokitten oozed its way out of a pipe and onto Jonny’s lap. Jony stared at it. The octokitten stared back. 

“What the fuck do you want?” Jonny asked it. It blinked at him. It had a collar around its neck labeling its name as “Captain.” 

Jonny stared at it for a few minutes longer before he burst into laughter. “This is ridiculous-” 

Captain gurgled at him as if to say “ _of course not, you fool“_ and oozed into a more comfortable position on his lap. 

Jonny sighed. “Captain, I can’t love Tim.” 

Captain gurgled again, as if to say ” _why not?”_

“Because I know I’ll hurt him and it’ll go badly!” he snapped. “Why am I talking to you?” 

Captain made a noise like a raw egg being dropped. 

“Ugh.” Jonny leaned his head back on the wall. “I hate having emotions. I don't even get to have them properly!” 

Captain meowed and tried to bat at Jonny’s pajama belt with one of its tentacles. 

“I didn’t know you could meow!” Jonny said, trying to move his belt out of the way. Captain meowed again and another octokitten oozed out of a hole in the floor. 

“Too many goddamn octokittens on this ship-” the second octokitten oozed it’s way to Jonny and Captain leaned down so the two of them could touch noses. 

Jonny cleared his throat. “Captain… is that… your partner?” 

Captain made the disgusting egg-being-dropped noise and pressed its nose against the other octokitten again. 

“Are you a boy or girl or a what?” Jonny asked Captain. Captain batted at its name tag, and jonny glanced at it to see pronouns under the name. xe/xem. “Oh, you’re an octokitten.” 

“What about your partner?” Jonny asked. He had no idea why he was talking to these octokittens, feeling these _stupid emotions about them_. 

“Ah. I see a name tag.” 

Captain's partner was named Moss Ball. he was certainly fluffy and green enough to be one, and also oozed onto Jonny’s lap. 

“Fuck…” Jonny whispered. “I wish…” he didn know what he wanted. Something like those octokittens had- no, that was stupid. They were octokittens. 

Captain stared at Jonny. Xe looked like xe were trying to talk to him. 

“Are you trying to give me fucking relationship advice?” 

Xe meowed. 

“I- I do care about him” the words hurt to say. “And honestly? I’d give everything to be back to last night.” 

Captain glooped a tentacled across his face. 

He sighed. “Don’t fucking do that.” 

Moss Ball stretched out, looking at him, and perfectly imitated his “ _don’t fucking do that.”_ before he settled back down. 

“What the fuck.” Jonny gently poked Moss Ball. “you can do that?” 

Moss Ball glared balefully at him. 

“What do I do about Tim? you two know how to have a relationship. Help me.” 

Captain made a ”brrrr!” sound and pressed xyr nose into Moss Ball’s fur again. The two octokittens made beeping noises back and forth at each other before they both looked at him. 

“You two are way too smart.” Jonny said. “Stop it. It’s unfair. I’m not going to talk to Him.” 

Moss Ball replied. “ _Going to talk to him._ ” 

“I just killed him, I don’t think that’ll go well.” Jonny scowled at him. 

Both octokittens gurgled again. 

“You’re being unhelpful- listen I fucking love him but I don’t know how to love, okay? I don’t know how.” 

Captain made a sound like an angry chicken and licked Jonny’s leg. It stung. 

“I have no idea what that means but no.” Jonny put his head in his hands. He was either about to cry or his face was about to explode. Possibly both. 

Both octokittens sat up and looked towards the door, making a myriad of happy chirps and meows and squelches. 

“What now-” Jonny looked up, wiping his eyes, only to see a shocked Tim standing in the doorway. 

“Jonny?” Tim said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway I am working on a one-shot about Captain and Moss Ball. you're welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I keep adding chapters but I swear chapter 5 will be the last one and it’ll just be a lil epilogue.

“You!”

“ _You_.” 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jonny snapped at Tim, ignoring the emotions that rose up in his chest at the sight of him. 

“I should be asking you that, I think.” Tim said. “I was coming to visit Captain and Moss Ball.” 

“I was-“ Jonny glared at Tim. He was hiding? Pouting? Avoiding his love for Tim that he really just couldn't deny any more? Nothing nearly as noble as visiting Captain and Moss Ball. 

Moss Ball, perfectly imitating Nastya, said “ _oh shit_!” And made a loud clattering noise. 

“I wasn’t doing anything.” He said helplessly. “No, that’s wrong, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You fucking shot me.” Tim’s voice was cold- he always had that little undercurrent of insanity with him, one of the things Jonny loved best, but when it was gone, and Tim was calm, then you knew you were fucked. “I told you I loved you and you pulled your gun on me.” 

Jonny cleared his throat.he didn’t have anything to say, and he was definitely going to start crying and _he felt like a stupid little kid again_. 

“Why?” Tim asked. “Just why? I bared my _fucking_ soul.” 

Jonny closed his eyes. “ _I don’t know how to love_ ” was what he wanted to say. “ _I love you_ ” was another phrase pushing at his lips. “I’m sorry.” Was what he said. 

“You’d better be.” Tim said. “You’d fucking better be.” 

“I- I really am.” Jonny said. 

Tim shook his head. “You could have talked to me! You could have told me you needed to think! You could have reacted a million better ways then shooting me and running off.” 

Jonny cleared his throat. “I’m- I’m not good at emotions. Expressing them. Emotions, that is.” 

Tim shook his head. “You-“ 

Moss Ball oozed his way off Jonny’s lap and to the middle of the floor, Captain following. Jonny and Tim were suddenly silent, watching the two octokittens move. 

Moss ball looked up at Jonny, and opened his mouth. 

“ _Captain- listen, he’s just so fucking cute! Stop it_ -“ Moss Ball imitated the egg-being-dropped sound “- _he’s an idiot, and a terrible person, but I care about him. Maybe I love him- yeah, I think I love him._ ” Moss Ball shut his mouth, ending the sound of Tim’s voice. 

None of that was particularly unexpected to Jonny- he already knew what Tim’s feelings about him were, but it was so strange to hear it like that, in Tim’s voice. 

Moss Ball turned to a dumb struck Tim.

Jonny expected his own voice, but that didn’t make it any less strange. “ _You’re being unhelpful- listen I fucking love him but I don’t know how to love, okay? I don’t know how.”_

Tim stared at him. Jonny stared back, both of them shocked. 

“Fuck- really-“ Tim’s voice was warmer, disbelieving. 

Jonny bit his lip hard, tasting blood and oil. He’d known Tim cared about him, known he’d loved him for the past day. His own feelings, hidden for god-knows how long, were so much more messy. They were full of too much pain and confusion for him to really even know what to do with them. 

“I just don’t know.” Jonny said. “I- it's all true- but it’s not simple.” 

Tim made a sharp moment, although he was about to move towards Jonny and thought better of it. 

“Listen, nothing is ever going to be simple with us.” Tim said. “We’re under the weirdest circumstances and you’re all… _sad_ and _traumatized_.” 

Jonny laughed, humorless. “So are you.”

“I fucking am!” Tim yelled. “We can be sad together, okay? I still don’t forgive you for shooting me though. Not yet.” 

“I’m sorry” 

“Apologizing again?” Tim gasped in mock surprise. “You don’t apologize to anyone but Nastya like once ever and I’m getting all the apologies!” It was clearly a painful forced attempt to lighten the mood, and the two of them fell silent for a minute. 

Jonny sighed. “Tim… how long have you loved me?” 

Tim looked at the floor. “The moon trenches.” 

“God.” Jonny shook his head slightly. 

“I took a leaf out of your book-“ 

“Never do that.”

“-and I avoided my emotions for ages.” 

Tim looked up, making brief eye contact with Jonny. The two of them burst into laughter. 

“This is so ridiculous.” Jonny gasped through his laughter. “An octokitten had to make actually confess properly-“

“You shot me because you didn’t know how to deal with your emotions, didn’t you.” Tim was grinning wildly again. It was very hot. 

“Maybe…” 

The two of them dissolved into laughter again, Tim sinking into the floor and promptly getting piled by Moss Ball,who was very excited and kept beeping at them. Captain had oozed xyr way back next to Jonny and was sitting on his foot. Xe seemed to be enjoying the chaos. 

“This whole thing has been a fucking disaster.” Tim sighed. “This was a horrible idea.” 

“It can still end well.” 

Tim snorted. “Says Jonny “no happy endings” D’Ville.” 

Jonny flipped him off. 

Tim returned the gesture. 

Captain meowed. 

“I’m still in my pajamas.” Jonny suddenly said. 

“Nastya’s pajamas, you mean.” 

Jonny glared at Tim. “The only reason I wear them is because I stole them.” 

“You’re an idiot.” 

Jonny glared harder. 

“It has been a day.” Tim said. “I still don’t quite forgive you.” 

“That’s okay.” He really didn’t deserve it- and it was saying a lot to admit just about anything about his thoughts and feelings. “You’re going to hang that over my head for ages, aren’t you.” 

“Yep. And you have to talk about your feelings more before I even think about stopping.” Tim was grinning. 

“Ew.” Jonny reached down to pet captain. 

“You have to communicate to make a relationship work!” Tim lightly smacked Jonny on the arm. 

“Fuck you.” Jonny grabbed Tim’s arm to pull him closer and kiss him. The kiss was rough, and a little messy, but so was everything else about Jonny and Tim. 

Jonny pulled away, leaving a slightly dazed Tim to push his hair out of his face. 

“Wow- this really has been a day.” Tim leaned over to lightly kiss Jonny in the forehead. 

Captain squawked loudly as Jonny shifted forwards to properly kiss Tim again, tipping xem out of Jonny’s lap. 

“You’re ruining the mood.” Tim informed xem, one of his hands still on the side of Jonny’s face. 

Xe squawked again. 

Jonny moved closer to Tim, leaning his head on his shoulder. Tim sighed and closed his eyes. 

“I’m tired.” Jonny said. “Relationshiping is hard.” 

“That’s not a word.” Tim leaned over and kissed the top of Jonny’s head. 

“Neither is matchmade.” 

Tim laughed. “Fuck you!” 

“Rules are for suckers.” Jonny sat up. “We can make up as many words as we’d like.” 

“Of course.” Tim smiled. “Technically, we can do and say whatever we’d like.” 

“Hmm. If we can do whatever we’d like, I think I’d like to kiss you.” Jonny smiled back at Tim, a real smile. 

“I’d like that too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is an incoherent mess but so are Jonny and Tim so it’s okay.


	5. Chapter 5

Jonny was sitting on Tim while the two of them were draped across a couch, playing with Tim’s hair while Tim hummed quietly. 

Ashes, walking by the open door to the living room, paused and leaned on the doorframe. 

“I thought you two broke up.” They remarked. “Hated each other and all.”

“Oh, we hate each other.” Tim said. 

“Definitely.” Jonny twisted a strand of Tim’s hair around his finger. 

Ashes raised an eyebrow. “Sure about that?”

“Mmm hmmm.” Jonny said, leaning over and pressing a light kiss to Tim’s forehead.

He could  _ hear _ Ashes’s eyebrow raising higher and he ignored it. It could get lost in their hat along with one of the handfuls of playing cards and boxes of matches they kept in there for all he cared. 

Ashes sighed and left. 

Jonny flopped over on Tim’s lap. 

Tim laughed. “Sometimes I swear you’re like a cat.” 

Jonny sighed. “Please shut up so I can take a fucking nap.” 

“No.” Tim ruffled Jonny’s hair. “I’m busy.” 

“With what.” Jonny mumbled. 

“Loving you, obviously.” 

Jonny grumbled and lifted his head to glare at Tim before pressing his face into Tim’s chest. 

“You’re going to get eyeliner on my shirt.” 

“That’s your problem.” 

“You’re just “my problem” now, aren’t you.” Tim said fondly. 

“Exactly.” Jonny said. “Now let me sleep.” 

Tim stroked Jonny’s hair while he snored quietly. He’d traded out his stolen pajamas for his more regular outfit and Tim’s coat, which Tim had decided to let him keep since Jonny had also stolen his gun. 

The two of them lay there for a while, Tim holding silent and still for the longest he had in a very long time, and Jonny snoring louder. Eventually Tim fell asleep too, holding one of Jonny’s hands on his chest. 

The two of them woke up around the same time, Jonny a little before Tim. Tim tried to sit up, but couldn’t with Jonny on top of him. 

“Jonny- get off me-“ 

Jonny raised one hand high into the air so Tim could see it. His middle finger was raised. 

“ _ Jonny.”  _ Tim was whining at this point, he knew, but he was getting restless. 

“Yes, that’s my name.” Jonny said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “Can I help you with something, darlin’?” 

“Get the fuck off me-“ Tim said, trying unsuccessfully to sit up again. He probably could have managed it, but not without dumping his boyfriend on the floor, and that seemed rude, even for Tim. 

Jonny flipped him off again. Tim returned the gesture. 

“Alright, that settles it.” Tim said, unable to keep the edge of laughter out of his voice. 

“Settles what- OH!”

Tim sat up, and instead of dumping the first mate onto the floor, scooped him into his arms. Then he stood up, still holding the much smaller man in his arms, and started walking out of the room. 

Jonny didn’t struggle, just glared at him from where he was slightly squished in Tim’s carry. His vest was almost up to his ears. 

Tim leaned down and kissed him on the nose, earning a playfully angry swat from Jonny. 

“Where to,  _ first mate.” _ Tim said, unsuccessfully leaning away from another angry swat. It was a lot harder to dodge Jonny when you were holding him. 

“Fuck you.” Jonny snapped. “Put me down.” 

Tim grinned. “Nope!” He started running, Jonny bouncing in his arms like an angry bundle of coat- which he mostly was. Tim’s coat absolutely engulfed him. 

He got a few more angry smacks before the two of them reached the kitchen, where Tim set a rather ruffled and angry Jonny on the counter. 

“What was that for?” Jonny snapped. 

“Yes.” Tim said, starting to pull dishes out of cabinets, struck with sudden inspiration. “I’m going to cook us dinner.” 

“You can burn water though!” Jonny half yelled. “Let me cook.”

“And make what, beans?” Tim said. “That’s no good for a romantic dinner.” 

“Neither is burned water, you fucking idiot.” Jonny said affectionately. “Get over here.” 

Tim walked back over to Jonny, holding a wooden spoon and expecting another smack. Instead Jonny grabbed Tim’s shirt and pulled him down the few inches of height difference now that Jonny was on the counter, and Jonny spoke in his ear. 

“I’m going to kiss you now.” 

Tim smiled. “I think I’d like that” 

The kiss was as gentle as anything between the two of them could be, Jonny’s hands tangled in Tim’s shirt and hair, and Tim dropped his spoon on the floor so he could cup his hands around Jonny’s face. 

The two of them broke apart after a long minute, their foreheads still pressing together.

At last, Jonny laughed. “I’m cooking.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was... a much bigger project then I expected. Mostly because Jonny and Tim wouldn’t shut up. Thank you for your comments and kudos for getting me through this! I hope you liked it!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr to yell about the mechanisms @two-am-art :D


End file.
